[CHAP.XII. OPERATIONS IN KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE.

control of general officers and thus secure competency and efficiency.

There is another point connected with your proclamation calling for troops of which I was not aware at the time, and which, I fear, is going to give us great embarrassment.

From the beginning of the war we have been struggling against the enlistment of men for a less period than the war or three years. We were tolerably successful, although this policy was strongly combated in some of the States. This struggle lasted, however, only so long as the State had arms to furnish. When armed men were offered us for twelve months necessity forced their acceptance, for we were deficient in arms; but the admirable ardor of our people in defense of their rights is such, that now, when they can no longer get arms from the governors of States, they offer their services for the war if we will arm them. I have about 10,000 men now in camps of instruction awaiting arms, and am daily adding to their numbers, but in Mississippi and Tennessee your unlucky offer to receive unarmed men for twelve months has played the deuce with our camps. I have just heard from HonorableWiley P. Harris, a member of Congress from Mississippi, that several war regiments, nearly completed, have been broken up, and the men are tendering themselves for twelve months.

There is this unfortunate result also: We are on the eve of winter. These men will be in camp four of five months, fed and paid by us, transported at great cost, provided with clothing, and then, when fairly able to do us service, we shall have to muster them out and transport them back home at great expense. However, I need not dilate to a man of your military knowledge on the vast advantage of war enlistments over those for twelve months.

Now our Treasury is sorely pressed, and I want to avoid the very heavy drain that will be caused by accumulating all these twelve-month's men, whose term of service may possibly expire without our ever arming them, for we shall certainly give arms on all occasions to the war volunteers in preference. Of course I want to avoid every appearance also of running counter to your measures. It occurs to me, therefore, that all further embarrassments will be best avoided by some proclamation from yourself, in which you could announce that you were now satisfied that the people of Kentucky were prepared to take up arms in defense of their liberties in much greater numbers than you had anticipated, and that it was no longer necessary to appeal to her sister States of the South, &c. I beg you will act promptly in this or some other manner, as shall seem to you best, to get rid of the twelvemonths' unarmed men, and I will engage to furnish you as many for the war as you can arm. It is not men we lack, but muskets.

In the mean time I inclose you a copy of a circular letter prepared by me, which will put you in possession of our policy about accepting troops, &c., so that we may preserve uniformity and regularity in all our movements.

I am, with great regard, yours, truly,

J. P. BENJAMIN.

MEMPHIS, TENN., October 25, 1861.

Colonel W. W. MACKALL, Assistant Adjutant-General Western Department:

COLONEL: I have the honor to report my arrival at this place, agreeable to your instructions of the 18th instant. I would state that there